I tried Tecno's new phone with its flashing lights, and it's no Nothing Phone

When you think of flashing light arrays on the back of a smartphone, it’s Nothing and phones like the Nothing Phone 4a Pro that come to mind.

Now, Tecno has put its arm in the air and waved its hand about to say, “Hey, me too!”

The new Tecno Pova 8 has a small LED display hidden on the back that the brand calls the Alive Matrix. Is it any good, and does it make the Pova 8 a Nothing alternative?

Related

I've tested the Nothing Phone (4a) and this is why it shames the giants

All the key must-haves are inside

Posts By  Andy Boxall

It’s alive. Alive!

A different take on the Glyph Matrix

Tecno’s Alive Matrix is more subtle than Nothing’s Glyph Matrix. It’s hidden inside what would usually be a camera lens cutout in the camera module on the back of the phone.

It’s highly customizable, with 49 scenarios covered in the software. It lights up to show incoming calls, notifications, and when you’re charging the phone.

It also has two mini-games, both borrowed from Nothing’s Glyph Matrix.

The first is Lucky Number, which is a digital Magic 8-ball, and generates a random number when you shake the phone three times.

The other is Rotating Microphone, which is spin-the-bottle, with the unfortunate issue being the bottle looks a bit like a “gentleman’s sausage.”

Probably the most useful feature is the chance to have the time displayed on the Alive Matrix when the phone is face down, but it doesn’t seem to have an always-on mode, and only shows up immediately after putting the phone down.

The Alive Matrix also stopped working for me during my short test, and only started again after I restarted the phone.

After you live with Nothing’s Glyph Matrix for a while, it becomes quite useful, so there’s definite potential for other brands to do something similar.

However, Tecno’s Alive Matrix still needs some refinement if it’s going to beat the king of flashing phone lights.

What about the Pova 8’s spec?

Massive battery leads the charge

Tecno has also taken inspiration from Nothing for the rear design of the Pova 8. It has a transparent-style look, but the shapes used are less challenging than those of the Nothing Phone 3, for example.

It also doesn’t feel as high-quality as a Nothing phone. It’s seriously weighty at 224 grams and substantial in your hand, but some may accept the trade-off because it has a massive 8,000mAh battery inside.

Tecno says it’s good for two full days of use, which sounds on the conservative side for such a capacity, and indicates 29-hours of YouTube playback and 14-hours of high-end mobile gaming are possible on a single charge.

Powering the phone is a MediaTek Dimensity 7100 processor, and my test model has 8GB of RAM. On the front is a big 6.76-inch 144Hz refresh rate screen, and it loves to be covered in fingerprints, an unfortunate issue that also affects the back of the phone.

Tecno has included its own G1 and SE1 cellular and Wi-Fi chips. It says these will improve reception in indoor areas and difficult signal spots like elevators.

It has Android 16 installed with Tecno’s extensive interface over the top, and the company promises two major OS software updates and three years of security updates.

How about the Pova 8’s camera?

Stripped down, but the quality isn’t great

Unusually, Tecno has not fitted a wide-angle camera to the Pova 8, leaving it with a single 50-megapixel Sony Lytia 600 camera. It also promises a 2x lossless zoom using the shortcut in the camera app.

Considering it would have almost certainly been an 8MP wide-angle camera, no one will miss it. I’ve taken a few photos with the main camera.

When it gets it right, the main camera’s photos look decent, with good contrast and white balance, and bold colors. Still, it often struggles with focus, exposure, and a slow shutter release.

Subscribe to our newsletter for smartphone design insights

Get deeper context by subscribing to the newsletter: thoughtful hands-on takes, comparisons, and explainers on smartphone features like rear light matrices, battery life trade-offs, and camera performance, so you can better understand new models.

Get Updates

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

The 2x mode makes decent use of its lossless ability, but photos can look washed out, and there’s ghosting and jagged edges when you look closely.

I’m probably being harsh, as this isn’t going to challenge top camera phones, but considering there is only one camera to handle, I’d have liked it to take consistent images at the very least.

Where will the Pova 8 be released?

Tecno doesn’t sell its smartphones in the US or the UK. The Tecno Pova 8 will be released in India first on June 11, with other markets — Tecno often releases its phones throughout Asia — to follow later. The price has not been announced at the time of writing.

The Pova 8 isn’t going to worry the Nothing Phone 4a or Nothing Phone 4a Pro for flashing light supremacy, almost regardless of its price.

However, it may be a fun alternative to devices like the CMF by Nothing Phone 2 Pro, or the Samsung Galaxy A17.